As the world entered the New Year, it was greeted with fanfare, dance, and the collective hope for happiness, prosperity, and a brighter future. Many celebrated the occasion with vibrant fireworks, symbolic of their joyous sentiments.
However, while such festivities bring cheer to some, I personally detest celebratory firing and the exhibition of weapons. These actions, rooted in arrogance and recklessness, breed fear and disrupt the peace of law-abiding citizens.
In cities across the United States, iconic celebrations marked the advent of 2025. Times Square in New York lit up with dazzling displays, while Washington, San Francisco, Ohio, and other states showcased mesmerizing light shows and lively New Year parties.
Europe, too, embraced the festive spirit. The enchanting fireworks at Sydney Harbour Bridge attracted millions, offering a magnificent spectacle. London dazzled with its vibrant displays, while Paris, the world’s fashion hub, captivated with its chic and colorful celebrations. Revelers in New Zealand and along Lake Ontario in Toronto bid farewell to 2024, eagerly welcoming the promises of the New Year.
In Pakistan, too, the New Year was greeted with enthusiasm. My city, Shikarpur, echoed with celebratory firing—a practice I deeply deplore, as it disrupts peace and signals chaos rather than joy. Yet, as these celebrations unfolded, not far from us lies Gaza—a besieged enclave trapped in unimaginable suffering.
While the world indulged in extravagant shows of light and colour, Gaza remained drenched in the horrors of winter. Torrential rains and fierce winds turned fragile makeshift camps into muddy swamps, compounding the miseries of displaced Palestinians. Their untold pain and suffering, reminiscent of historical atrocities of Holocaust and medieval barbarism resorted to by Chengzis, reveals the barbarity of modern oppression.
In these camps, the most wronged and forsaken people on earth endure lives of unimaginable torment. The world, engrossed in its celebrations, has turned its back on their plight, abandoning them to hunger, disease, trauma, and now, the chilling grip of hypothermia. Even evacuation orders serve as a cruel tactic to drive them toward death. For the 2.3 million besieged Palestinians, the New Year brought no respite—only the continuation of destruction, despair, and the relentless specter of death.
Qamer Soomro, Shikarpur
Copyright Business Recorder, 2025
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